Mumbai: Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) has kicked off its third round of VRS, wherein the bank proposes to cut 1,700 jobs. This would reduce the banks workforce by one-third.

The present VRS is aimed at staff members who are less than 40 years of age or have put in less than 10 years of service.

During the banks first and second VRS, 574 and 390 staff members respectively had accepted the banks scheme. However, the first two retirement schemes were extended only to the staff members of ANZ Grindlays Bank, which had merged with StanChart. The present scheme is targeted at both StanChart as well as the staff members of ANZ Gridlays Bank.

StanChart may also consider a fourth VRS, exclusively for StanCharts non-management staff, as they had not participated in the first two programmes.

The job cuts are aimed at cutting down flab as the bank has identified surplus staff at various levels. Along with this, the bank, which is also reorganising its branch network, is planning to close down seven branches and sell three branches to other banks.